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Episode 63: Reversal of Fortune
"Sandor! What's going on down there?" Derek's voice crackled through Sandor's communicator so loudly that the science officer winced.
"It's – it's reversing direction," Sandor replied, stunned. "I don't know what IQ did, but it's sending this thing right back the way it came." The science officer covered his other ear with his hand as the scream of metal on metal continued to echo through the enormous engine room.
"Make sure it doesn't start heading towards the engine again," Derek ordered. "We don't know what kinds of fail-safes are rigged on that thing."
"Will do, Wildstar. I'll stay down here with IQ until we know for sure the danger's passed."
IQ's dome lit up a brilliant green. Sandor thought that the android looked quite pleased with himself.
"Don't get too happy, IQ," Sandor chided.
"But by making my 'mistake,' I actually made the situation better," IQ protested in his whiny, tin voice. "I think that's what you humans call 'luck.'"
"Yes, you did make it better, and some might call it 'luck,' but I wouldn't," Sandor replied over the wail of the exiting missile.
"What do you call it then, Sandor?" IQ asked, seeming genuinely puzzled by the science officer's statement.
"I call it the grace of God," Sandor replied, a tiny smile lighting up his face.
"I do not understand," IQ said.
"I know," Sandor replied, watching the missile continue on its journey back down the firing gate. "Wildstar, it'll be at least twenty-five minutes before we know if it'll clear the Argo without any problems," Sandor said into his communicator.
"Alright. Keep a watch on it." Derek replied, then ended the call to Sandor's comm.
Starsha nearly fainted with relief when she saw that the mining drill was backing out of the Eratite ship instead of plowing right through the engine.
She sighed heavily and sat down hard on her bed. She let her left hand fall to her lap, keeping the Interface connection open, her left palm still outstretched. The Eratites were far from being out of danger. It looked like several multi-deck fighter carriers were in the Keshet area and all of them were bombarding the Eratite ship mercilessly.
Starsha stared at the images. "Dommel Lysis..." she whispered. "If only I could contact you somehow... Stop you from making this terrible mistake."
Starsha looked up from her Interface connection and stared through the enormous window spread out before her. It was a beautiful night on Iscandar, nothing like what must be happening on board the Eratite ship right now.
The night animals were flying and running about as they always did. The moons shone down on the palace, their light illuminating the many gardens and courtyards that graced the surrounding area.
She looked up towards Gamilon.
"My friend… at least, you were once… why must you insist on waging war – a war that Yahweh Himself fights against you…? Will you not see that destroying the Eratites is not what you must do, Desslok?" Starsha let the thought echo in her mind as she steadfastly looked towards her former rescuer's home. She felt tears start to roll down her cheeks, but she did not bother to wipe them away. After all, there was no one else here; no one but Yahweh Himself, and He would not begrudge her this righteous sorrow.
She looked back down at the Interface and switched from the view of the engine room to one of the bridge. Right away she noticed that her sister was not among the officers on duty there.
She quickly checked through the rest of the ship.
Astra was nowhere to be found.
"Interface, show me my sister. Show me Astra."
The Interface lit up, blinking for several seconds before it displayed the inside of a small cargo hold.
"No, she isn't there," The young queen protested. "Show me the woman who usually watches the radar on the bridge."
The Interface blinked rapidly again, then said, "Lieutenant Nova Forrester is not on board the ship."
"What? What do you mean she's not on board?" Starsha asked eyes wide.
"She is not on board the ship."
"But why isn't she?" Starsha prodded.
The Interface lit up brightly for about half a second, then displayed a short clip of footage from one of the Argo's security cameras. What Starsha saw made her blood run cold.
"What in all of space is going on here?" Starsha breathed, too stunned to react properly to what she was seeing. There, before her eyes, a man wearing an Eratite uniform grabbed her sister and dragged her away. "Why was she being taken by her own crewmate?"
The video went black for half an instant before switching cameras and picking up again. This time, the view Starsha had was from the ceiling of one of the lowermost areas of the Argo. The same man who'd grabbed her sister still had Astra slung over his shoulder, but now, he was followed by two other people, one man and one woman, both also wearing Eratite uniforms.
As the young queen watched, the three strangers took her sister through a hold in the floor and proceeded to seal it up behind them, leaving no trace of their passing.
"Replay the entire clip," Starsha ordered, confused about what she'd seen. "And play it with sound this time."
The image picked back up where it had begun, but this time, Starsha heard the unmistakable sound of someone speaking in the tongue of Gamilon and Iscandar.
The answer slowly came to the young queen.
"Severe the connection to the Argo," Starsha ordered the Interface.
The device immediately shut off the images coming through from the Eratite ship.
"List all available connections," she said.
"Unit two, availab –"
"Connect to unit two." Starsha ordered, cutting off the computer before it could even finish its sentence.
"Connecting now."
"It's out, Wildstar," Sandor announced through the comm.
"Okay, get back up here. We're still getting beat up pretty badly," Derek replied.
"On our way now," Sandor said, then hung up. "Come on, IQ." The science officer motioned for the robot to follow him.
The trek back up to the bridge didn't take long, though more than once he saw crewmen and women running this way and that, looks of concern, and even fear on their faces. When he and IQ stepped onto the bridge once again, Sandor saw the haggard looks on everyone's faces. They were all more than ready for this battle to finally be over.
"What's our situation?" Sandor asked Derek as he passed the acting captain on his way back to his station.
"Damage to most decks and one engine is out of commission entirely. The second one is hobbling along as well as it can, but we're going nowhere fast." Derek looked at all his bridge officers, "We definitely can't use the wave gun now, so it's up to us to figure out another way to get through this alive so we can make it the rest of the way to Iscandar and then back home."
There was a collective silence on the bridge and Derek could almost hear his officers' minds reeling, trying to find something that might help in their efforts to survive this.
"If anyone thinks of anything, feel free to share it," Wildstar said.
Silence fell once more, broken only by the explosion of enemy fire ripping into the ship yet again.
Sandor suddenly sat up straight in his chair, a look of startled revelation on his face. "Wildstar, I think I know something we can do."
"What's that?" Derek asked.
"I think I can get into that missile's systems and control it remotely. Now that IQ has seen it and I've been able to interact with it, I think I can manage it."
Derek stared hard at the XO for a long two seconds, then nodded, "Do it. If you can control it, we might be able to use it as a last line of defense."
"If I can get access to it, I can use their sensors to find the fleet attacking us," Sandor said.
"Great!" Derek exclaimed, "Use whoever you need, but make it fast. Argo's holding together, but she'll fall apart eventually, and that's not an option for us right now."
Sandor nodded, "Yes, sir."
The familiar glow illuminated the dark room, filling the night with a spark of hope. Desslok, still awake even though it was very nearly the middle of the night, reached out and pulled on the lit Interface.
"Incoming call from unit three. Do you wish to connect?" the device asked.
"Yes," the Leader replied, taking a step away from the shadows that he knew loomed behind him.
The image of Queen Starsha materialized before his eyes. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, but this time, there was something different in her face.
"What brings you to me at this late hour, Queen Starsha?" He asked.
"Desslok, I want an answer." Starsha said, voice firm, eyes holding a peculiar fire.
"An answer to what?" Desslok replied, genuinely puzzled by the woman's demand.
"Why was my sister kidnapped from the Eratite ship?" Starsha asked.
"I am not aware of such a development." Desslok answered carefully.
The young queen narrowed her eyes a bit, her head tilted just enough to let the Leader know that she did not trust his words.
"Have I ever lied to you?" Desslok asked, seeing her reticence.
"No…" Starsha replied, her face softening, and then suddenly the hard veneer reappeared, "I saw her taken from that ship."
"I was not even aware that she was on board the Eratite vessel." Desslok replied, a strange feeling of dread starting to rise in his throat.
"She is," Starsha said, "and she has become a valued member of their crew."
Understanding dawned on the Leader, "You… are the reason they're coming…" he said quietly, "You sent them the plans for that engine they're using, and that weapon they have fashioned." He felt as though a knife had been plunged into his back – as though the great darkness that he'd held back for so long was about to swallow him whole. "You are helping them."
"I am, Desslok." Starsha admitted. "I cannot let you destroy the Origin. I simply cannot. It is the place where Yahweh created life. It is Erats… I cannot let you continue your war with it. You must stop. Please…"
The pleading in Starsha's voice tugged at the Leader's heart. Finding out that Starsha was the one working against him was a devastating blow, but though he knew now that she was his enemy, he still felt the same urge to help her as he had all those years ago when he'd cleansed Iscandar of the remnants of his brother's plague.
The two warring wishes in his heart silenced him and he gave her no answer.
"Will you stop this madness, my…dear friend…? It is not too late to make things right." The young queen's eyes flooded with tears as she said this. "I do not wish for you to die in this needless war. I do not wish for anyone to. Give the order, Desslok, please, just give the order." Starsha reached out to him with her free hand. "And do not let them harm my sister."
Something inside him moved to touch that outstretched hand, to accept her wishes to end the war on the Eratites, but then images of his beloved home, and its people, flooded his mind and he couldn't help but see the coming devastation and death that the plague would unleashed on Gamilon.
"I am sorry, dear Starsha… but I cannot stop pursuing the Eratites… I must continue on. This 'war' as you call it, can only have one victor, and I intend to be him." He looked away, then continued in a low voice, "But I will see to it that your sister is returned to you safely. I have no quarrel with her, or with you, though you seek to undo my plans for our worlds' future."
Starsha slowly let her hand drop back down to her lap and she looked away. "I… thank you for your help with my sister…," she said softly. "May Yahweh deal mercifully with you in regards to that blessed ship… Yahweh's hand is upon it, Desslok. You will not prevail."
With that the connection was severed.
"I've got it!" Sandor declared triumphantly. "I have a connection to the missile."
"Can you use its sensors?" Derek asked.
"I think so," the science officer replied, squinting at one of the monitors at his station. "Yes! I have use of their sensors and navigation. Bringing the missile about and adjusting." Sandor concentrated on the controls laid out before him virtually. He still had no idea what several of the controls did, but he knew enough to use them as well as he needed to right now.
"Got them," Sandor announced.
"Where are they?" Derek asked immediately.
"They're a lot farther inside this gas cloud. I don't know how they got their fighters in and out so fast. It's like they're teleporting them into and out of our area."
"Maybe they are…" Homer said from the other side of the bridge.
"What was that, Glitchman?" Dash asked from his station, not far from Homer.
"It's just that – " Homer stopped to adjust something on the main comm unit. "I can hear some of what they're saying over one of their communications channels."
"What are they saying?" Derek asked.
"I think this is the channel their pilots use some of the time, or else it's one that a few of them use for more private conversation. One of them said 'I hate this thing,' and another one agreed with him and added, 'Nothing like wondering if your guts are gonna get strewn all over Keshet.'"
"What's 'Keshet'?" Derek asked, eyebrow raised at the odd word."
"It means 'rainbow,'" Sandor answered absently as he concentrated on navigating the missile.
"Oh, right - their name for this place," Derek said. "So, Homer, did they say anything else? Anything at all?"
"Yeah, they did. Nothing I could make much sense of though. The pilot channels are spotty. There's no way we could use them to predict attacks reliably." Homer slumped a bit in his chair, "I wish there was something I could tap into that might tell us more about them, but right now, that's all I've got."
"Okay, so they can instantly transport matter from one place to another. That's not a good thing to be up against," Dash put in from his station.
"No, it's not," Derek replied, "But we can't give up just because they've got a better weapon than we do. Quitting or giving up isn't an option." Derek looked over at Sandor, "Find their flagship. When you do, we end this. We aren't losing any more crew to this guy."
The bridge fell silent. They all knew that the situation down in the medical bay wasn't good.
"We've had… thirteen casualties so far…" Derek said, eyes on the floor, "and at least fifty more are wounded, some seriously. Dr. Sane sent me a list earlier."
All was quiet again when Derek stopped talking. The only things that could be heard on the bridge were the soft blippings and bleepings of the equipment.
Dash gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Let's show 'em what thirteen of our lives cost."
All the other officers nodded solemnly, a fire igniting in their eyes.
"Found it," Sandor announced. "What do we do now?"
"General Lysis."
Dommel's second-in-command approached his commander respectfully, an odd look on his face.
"Yes," Dommel said as the other man stopped and bowed his head to the General.
"The mining drill has returned," the XO said.
"Returned?" Dommel asked, puzzled. "Why has it returned? The command unit detached over an hour ago. It should have tunneled all the way into the Eratite ship's engine by now."
"We have no sensor readings that indicate an explosion, Sir," the XO said.
"There must have been a malfunction in its computer core," Dommel groaned, annoyed at this delay. "Send out a ship to tow it into the maintenance bay. And be sure it's deactivated before they bring it on board. I don't want what we intended to happen to the Eratites to happen to our fleet."
"Yes, General Lysis." The XO bowed again and quickly left to deliver his commander's orders.
"How many ships are there?" Derek asked Sandor.
"Four carriers and a flagship. But there are dozens of destroyers. The carriers look to have a capacity of at least one hundred and fifty fighters each," Sandor replied.
"We've been fighting six hundred enemy ships…?" Derek asked, "No wonder we never could thin them out." Derek took a good look out the front view ports that lined the con tower. Outside, a variety of colored gasses swirled around them, enveloping the ship in a thick blanket of everything from pastel pink to bright orange.
As he watched, another tremor shook the Argo, and if Derek hadn't grabbed the back of Sandor's chair, he would have gone tumbling.
"Target their flagship," Derek ordered. "And send that missile right back to them."
Derek waited to hear the XO's acknowledgment, but it never came.
"Sandor?" Derek stepped to the side of the science officer's seat and looked down at him.
Sandor was staring at the display in front of him, a disturbed look in his eyes.
"Is there something wrong with the controls?" Wildstar prodded, not sure why the other man wasn't already sending the enemy's weapon hurtling back at them.
"No…" Sandor replied quietly, "It's just that… since meeting that pilot… Melda – I know we must defend ourselves, and I cannot justify the losses we've suffered, even in this battle alone, but –" the XO halted and bowed his head, "I don't want to take their lives needlessly either."
"I get it, Sandor," Derek replied, keeping the conversation's volume low enough to keep it from the rest of the bridge crew. Thankfully, most of them were paying more attention to what was going on outside than to the acting captain and XO. "But today, we have to make a strong showing. If we don't, they won't stop attacking us until the Argo and everyone aboard her is strewn through this rainbow tomb in a thousand tiny pieces."
Sandor took a deep breath and let it out. "I know, Wildstar, but even that doesn't give me any reassurance."
"Do it for those thirteen men and women who won't get to go back home and see their families again." Derek gripped Sandor's near shoulder as he spoke. "Do it for the ones back on Earth who have to hope that we make it back. Every day they look up at the sky and wonder, 'will they be here today?'"
Sandor slowly nodded, "Alright, Wildstar. Enemy flagship targeted."
Derek nodded, "Now send that thing back to where it came from."
"General, the mining drill is moving under its own power," Dommel's second-in-command informed his superior.
"Cancel the call for the retrieval," Dommel ordered. "Get everyone inside the hangars and near the engines out of those areas. Something isn't right."
"Yes, Sir," the XO replied, quickly relaying the General's orders.
"Give me a visual on that drill," Lysis ordered.
Instantly a live video feed of the giant mining tool appeared on the main viewscreen above the front-most bridge personnel.
"Give me an estimated trajectory based on its movement right now," Dommel ordered.
Several of the bridge crew scrambled to obey and a moment later one of them announced, "It's headed straight for us, General."
"Full reverse! Put the ship on high alert. I want all crew to evacuate to the escape pods. All officers are to come here, to the bridge. The carriers must leave the immediate area now. I believe the Eratites have outperformed our expectations." Dommel looked over his shoulder at his acting second-in-command, "It would seem that they are indeed a most formidable opponent."
Red lights began flashing all around the bridge as it backed away from the oncoming drill as quickly as it could. Alarms sounded all over the ship, sending every hall and room into a flurry of activity.
Dommel watched as the drill picked up speed.
"All main guns, take aim and fire when ready," Dommel instructed.
The order was relayed and seconds later, streaks of brilliant laser light flashed through the void towards the oncoming drill.
They bounced off of it like pebbles off rubber.
Dommel gritted his teeth and let out a low, frustrated growl. "Prepare for separation," he ordered.
"Yes, Sir, separation sequence engaged," one of the officers replied.
"I will not be defeated this way," thought Dommel. "I will return home after this battle, Eratites, even if I must do so carrying the guilt of more blood on my hands. I will not let you keep me from my home – from my Elisa. I will hold you back with all the power at my command."
Episode 64: Leptopoda
Nova wasn't sure how long it took for them to reach their destination. She wondered what had become of the Argo and her crew. She hadn't heard anything from her faithful attendant about the fate of her friends.
She sat on the cold floor, eyes half-closed as she felt the ship moving beneath her. It felt a bit like sailing – at least, it had when they'd come through that second gate. She hadn't realized how much thicker the air was inside the gates than it was out in void-space. It was like the air was filled with something else, perhaps water, or something akin to it.
The gates were like no other place she'd ever been. This last time she'd come through, there had been minimal interaction with anything outside the ship. A few times she'd seen phantasms moving through the hall outside, and even once, a wispy apparition had floated through her cell, but it had quickly vanished.
Nova wondered why the assault on her and Derek had been as terrible as it was. Why would they be assailed so violently? She had asked her keeper once – as well as she could manage anyway – about the ghostly sights that came during gate travel and he seemed to know less than she did about the apparitions, and, all things considered, he didn't seem very concerned about them.
"There usually aren't many intense sighting during a jump, Princess," he'd replied. "Usually, we only see the things we fear most or the things we love and have lost."
Nova had thought on this for some time. It made sense in light of the things she'd seen during this last jump on board the Gamilon ship. She'd seen her father – her birth-father – lingering in the hall outside briefly, but the sighting had been short and the phantom hadn't interacted with her at all, merely peered at her, then disappeared.
"It's almost like everything is being concentrated on the Argo. All the dark forces that can touch us are trying to do it while we use those gates," she thought. "If only I could tell them…"
Then a wave of despair rolled over her. Who was she really kidding? There was no way she could make it back to the Argo now – not after this.
She was hopelessly imprisoned by their enemies. Even though the Gamilons thought she was Astra of Iscandar, what would happen when they discovered their mistake? What would they do when they found out that the real Princess Astra was… dead?
"We're almost there, Princess." Stav's voice broke through Nova's thoughts and she looked up at the young man and nodded.
"Thank you," she managed.
"I brought you something to eat before we leave. I know you haven't had much today." Stav opened the cell and stepped in. He knelt down in front of Nova and handed her a small sealed container with some food in it. He also gave her a bottle of something Nova had come to realize was some kind of nutritionally supplemented "water." What they called it, she wasn't at all sure and, in truth, she was a little bit afraid to ask what exactly was in it. It tasted strange, but it wasn't too terrible.
Nova thanked her attendant again and watched as he turned around and left her cell, locking it behind him again.
Nova opened the food and started to eat it. Another thing she could say for the Gamilons, their food wasn't all that bad. It was better than the emergency rations they had on board the Argo.
She grimaced at the memory of the taste of that awful stuff. It was dry and crusty – like eating sandpaper sandwiched between very old bread. But it had enough vitamin, mineral, and other supplemental contents to keep a person alive, so she'd eaten it.
She quickly finished her food and "water" and set the empty containers in a small box-like opening at the foot of the door. She wasn't sure that was what the box was intended to be used for, but it suited her and Stav never complained of her using it in that fashion.
All in all, he was not an unpleasant fellow, though he more often than not smelled of sweat and a hard day's work. But that was not at all foreign to Nova. Many of her own shipmates carried that smell with them after a battle or a long shift on repair duty stuck in one of those EVA suits for ten hours or more.
Nova sat, patiently waiting for whatever fate was to befall her.
As she waited, an overwhelming sadness started to catch in her throat and tears began rolling down her cheeks.
"Lord, I want to see them again. Please, get me back to the ship. Let me get home again, to Earth. I want to be with them all again, to help get the cure back home so we can all live again, the way we so desperately want to – to walk beneath a warming sun without fear of the burning radiation that riddles every bare thing above ground… to feel the breezes blowing across green fields… to hear the birds singing on a dewy morning… Oh, Lord… I want so much for our Earth to be healed again, and for the seasons to be reinstated… Please, bring me home to see that."
"We're here, Princess." Stav appeared outside her door again. "We have to get ready to disembark. The Warden will want to see you in person so he can assign a suitable aide to you."
Nova nodded and slowly stood. Her wrinkled uniform was a sight. It hadn't been washed since before she'd been taken, but at least she'd been allowed to spot-clean it here and there, so at least it didn't smell.
Stav opened her cell door and waited for Nova to approach him before he secured one ropelike bond to Nova's wrist and the other to one of his own.
"I'm sorry, but we must still take a few precautions, you understand." Stav said, indicating the bonds that now held them together.
She nodded again and looked away.
"The Warden will make sure you are well-kept, Princess. Do not worry too much." Stav offered.
Nova heard the compassion in his voice and it gave her a bit of hope that she might meet more descent people like Stav wherever she was to be held now.
Stav led Nova through the cramped ship and out to the boarding ramp.
Nova had to squint as they exited. The bright light outside was enough to blind her sensitive eyes after being cooped up in the dim light of her cell for so long.
Once her eyes adjusted she was surprised to find that they'd landed on what looked like a desert world. All around her were miles of sand and rock stretching as far as her eyes could see.
She looked straight ahead and saw that the boarding ramp ended at a stone walkway. The path led straight up to a group of waiting men and one woman whose face was veiled from view.
"Where am I?" Nova thought.
Before she could look around anymore, the pull on her wrist forced her to follow Stav down the ramp and onto the path in front of her.
Her boots fell on hard stone and she heard the echo of her own footsteps as she followed her keeper.
She chanced a look over her shoulder and realized that she and Stav were not the only ones coming. There, several feet behind her, walked a man she had never seen before. He was tall, much taller than her. His wild, brown hair framed a face that looked stern, but she could see in his eyes the potential for compassion and good intentions. He wore a thin mustache and his skin was the normal Gamilon blue she'd come to expect. He walked with a confidence that made Nova quite sure that he was the captain of the ship she'd been aboard.
There was another man with the first. He seemed odd in a way and Nova didn't really know what to think of him. He didn't seem cruel like she'd expected, merely more enigmatic than she would have thought an officer would be.
Turning her eyes back to where she was going, she saw more clearly the people who had come to get them.
"Frakken!" a large man with a bellowing voice called to one of the men behind Nova. "We've been expecting you."
"I'm sure." The man Nova thought to be the ship's captain replied. "She is to be treated with the utmost respect as a member of the royal house of Iscandar. Is that understood… Bozen?"
Nova couldn't miss the bite in the captain's address to the stout man in front of her.
"Oh, of course; I have the perfect aide for her." The fat man, "Bozen" as the captain had called him, motioned towards the veiled woman with a strange smirk.
The captain, Frakken, replied, "I will hear of it if she is mistreated." He let a bit of silence fall between himself and Bozen before adding, "And so will Leader Desslok."
Nova's eyes widened and she fought to maintain her composure. "Who is that?" she thought. "I thought Sandor said this 'General Lysis' was the head of Gamilon."
"Do not worry. There will be no need for that." Bozen replied, looking a bit skittish at the idea that his deeds might be told to this "Leader Desslok."
"See to it that there is not." Frakken said.
Bozen nodded, "Now, if you will tell your little off-worlder here to let the Princess loose, I'll escort her to her quarters personally."
"Tell him yourself, Warden. He has ears too." Frakken bit back.
Something about the Warden's reference to Stav made Nova dislike Bozen even more than she already did. His tone screamed of condescension, though exactly why he would speak of Stav that way didn't make sense to Nova.
"Maybe so, leader of wolves, but he is not one of us, so I do not see the use in valuing him as such." Bozen growled.
"Well, perhaps I do." Frakken replied, voice just as threatening.
Nova felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. This was like watching two dogs bare their fangs at each other just before a fight.
Nova took a deep breath and sent up a quick prayer, and then she did the last thing she thought might be safe to do, considering the situation. "He is a good man." She said.
Both Frakken and Bozen stopped growling at each other and looked at her in surprise.
"He has my thanks," she said slowly.
Bozen lowered his eyes and made a sniffing sound with his obscenely large nose. "Whatever you say, Princess." The Warden chanced another look at Frakken, "Even if I do not agree with you, I will… respect your words."
Frakken gave Nova a short bow. "I thank you for your kind words, Princess Astra. Please, if you need anything during your stay, we would be happy to assist you."
Nova nodded back to the captain and in the most proper voice she could muster she replied, "Thank you."
"May I stay?" Stav suddenly asked, his words directed to Frakken, his captain.
"If you wish to, I have no claim to you." Frakken replied. "You may go where you choose. You and your companion's allegiance to my ship is accomplished."
"I will stay with the Princess then." Stav said. "There is no way of telling what kind of… people… she might encounter here." The younger man eyes Bozen, "It would ease my mind to know that she has someone to protect her."
Nova was startled at this offer. She was, in a way relieved that she would be accompanied by someone who was not quite as much of a stranger as everyone else, but despite the fact that she had grown to rather like the man, he was one of the three who had kidnapped her and that still made her a bit uneasy.
Frakken nodded, "Very well." Then he turned to the warden, eyes narrowing at the large man, "We should be going." With that, he turned and left, followed by the odd officer who'd accompanied him.
"This will be your aide." Bozen completely ignored Stav and motioned towards the veiled woman. "She will assist you with whatever you need."
Nova nodded to the Warden. "Thank you."
"Right this way, my lady." The veiled woman said as she turned and started into the fortress that lay ahead.
Elisa's breath caught in her throat when she saw her brother coming down the path towards her. She didn't say a word as he and the Iscandari Princess spoke to the Warden. She was glad she'd worn the veil which hid all but her eyes. If Wolf knew she was here, on Leptopoda, he would start asking questions and he might find out about her recent actions, and her involvement with the rebels. Then Dommel would know…
Elisa looked away from her brother and the Iscandari in an effort to hide the fear and the hint of despair that she knew were in her eyes.
Wolf turned and left and Elisa looked up to see the Princess and a Galeran man still standing with her.
"Right this way, my lady," she motioned for the Princess to follow her.
She led the woman and her escort into the darkness of the Leptopoda compound. They passed through hall after hall of prisoners. Some were quiet as the dead; others were louder than a herd of fighting rhinobeasts. Hands reached out through the steel bars, begging for release from this dreadful place.
Once they'd passed through the confinement area that held the less violent criminals, they reached the solitary confinement spaces.
Elisa cast glances back at the Princess, watching as her face darkened with every prisoner they passed.
She stopped at a few cells along the way and looked in for a long moment each time. The solitary cells had no bars through which to see, so once they reached them, the Princess stopped peering at the men and women they passed.
As they went by the last solitary cell Elisa noticed that it was now occupied. Its records indicated that it had been vacant for the longest time and she'd wondered when they might see it filled again. An empty cell on Leptopoda usually meant that one of its residents had breathed his last, sometimes through natural means, but other times because Bozen had taken a particular disliking to him.
Elisa shivered at the thought of some of the things she'd seen recently. Just a few days ago Bozen had taken her out to accompany him on one of his "outings." She'd discovered all too well what that meant. Instead of leaving the compound, Bozen had taken her up to an open arena positioned on the top of one of the smaller cell-blocks. He'd proceeded to release several prisoners and watched with glee as he'd taken shot after shot at them with a laser rifle. They'd all run for their lives, but their room was limited.
Elisa had turned away when the Warden had taken aim at the first prisoner, an old Cometine, and sent him to his death. Bozen had executed three more in exactly the same fashion, laughing as he'd done it. The last prisoner left standing had chosen a different fate. Instead of waiting for Bozen to butcher him, he'd leapt from the arena, shouting the praises of his great Comet Emperor as he fell to his death.
"We have arrived." Elisa announced as they reached a plain door some distance away from the cell-blocks.
The Princess nodded and indicated that her escort was to stay outside. Then, she turned to Elisa and waited for her to enter the room first.
Elisa did as the Princess expected and went into the quarters she'd prepared for Princess Astra only this morning.
The Princess stepped into the room, the door closing quickly behind her. The woman looked around the room, taking it all in.
"Is it… to your liking, your highness…?" Elisa asked, hesitantly, not sure what to make of the Iscandari woman's silence.
"Yes," the Princess said simply. "It is nice."
Elisa nodded slowly. "If you will permit me…" The Gamilon woman crossed the room and retrieved a long, violet gown from the closet. "Would this be more to your liking than that – that Eratite uniform?"
The Princess looked at the dress, then to Elisa's surprise, she reached out and touched it, feeling the fabric before a small smile graced her face.
"Yes. Thank you," She said and held out both arms to take the garment.
"No, I shall assist you." Elisa shook her head. "It is only fitting that a member of the royal house of Iscandar be granted at least that much, even here on a prison world."
The Princess looked reticent.
"But… if it would make you more comfortable to do it yourself, I will understand. I had forgotten that you and your sister… are not used to company."
A strange look flickered across the Princess's face, but it quickly vanished. The Iscandari held out both arms again and Elisa placed the dress in Astra's custody.
"Thank you." The Princess said again, then stepped behind the changing screen and donned the purple dress.
Minutes later she stepped back out and Elisa's eyes widened at the sight before her. She had never seen one of the Iscandari princesses with her own eyes before. From what she'd heard and read, they usually wore their hair longer than Astra now wore hers, but perhaps she had been forced to cut it to live and work among the Eratites more practically.
The violet gown was not a perfect fit, in fact it was a bit too long on the Princess and the voluminous sleeves were a bit cumbersome for her, but it had been the best Elisa could get ahold of on such short notice.
"I can adjust it for you if you would like." Elisa offered.
The princess nodded and smiled, then, to Elisa's astonishment, the Princess did the last thing Elisa expected.
Princess Astra stepped up to her and reached out towards her face.
Elisa stood stock still, not knowing what the other woman was doing and unsure as to how to respond. In lieu of taking any action, she simply did nothing and waited to see what the Princess had in mind.
Carefully, the Princess reached out with both hands and took hold of the veil Elisa wore, and then she carefully removed it, letting the face covering drape over a nearby piece of furniture.
Elisa was too stunned to say anything for a full ten seconds.
"My – my lady, I did not think you would want to see the face of a lowly prisoner such as I. You honor me with your deed." Elisa said quietly, head bowed.
"You are a person." The Princess said, letting her hands rest on Elisa's shoulders. "Yahweh loves all of His Creations."
Elisa didn't know what to say to that, so she simply nodded and replied slowly, "I… suppose..."
"You're pregnant." The Princess said without ceremony.
Elisa's eyes widened again and she fought off a sudden sense of panic.
"H – how do you know that? I haven't told anyone about it." Elisa sputtered.
The Princess smiled softly. "I can see the signs."
"Please, Princess, I beg of you not to say anything." Elisa pleaded, sinking to her knees and looking up at the Iscandari plaintively.
"Alright," the Princess nodded. "I won't."
"Thank you…" Elisa bowed her head, tears of relief starting to well up in her eyes. "I'll get my things and come back to hem up your dress for you." Elisa quickly got to her feet again and disappeared to fetch her sewing supplies.
When the Gamilon woman had gone, Nova took a seat on the nicely-made bed. Something about her made Nova want to give the woman whatever help she needed, even though Nova didn't know what her plight was. To be pregnant and stuck in a place like this with a man like the Warden prowling around… it was enough to make anyone nervous.
She sighed and let herself fall backwards onto the bed. With a soft thwump she hit the comfortable blanket and whatever the Gamilons considered a mattress. It was a nice bed, nicer than her bunk onboard ship, in fact.
Nova closed her eyes and imagined what her crewmates were doing right now. Did they even know she was gone yet?
She sat back up and ran her fingers through her hair. It was a bit knotted up from the trip, seeing as she hadn't had the chance to brush it out in what felt like a month, but was probably less time than that.
She looked around the room and found what appeared to be a mirror. She stood up and stepped over to it. She wasn't disappointed when she discovered several personal grooming tools, some of which she didn't recognize, but there was one in particular that she did find familiar.
With a squeal of joy she reached out and picked up a simple hair brush. Sighing in relief, she began working through the tangles in her straight, blonde hair.